Corn-husker.



PATENTED MAY l, 1906. H. C. CHAPMAN. GORN HUSKER. APPLICATION FILEDSEPT. s, 1905.

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H. C. CHAPMAN.

CORN HUSKER.

APPLICATION FILED sEPT.s,19o5.

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No. 819,122. PATENTED MAY 1, 1906.

H. C. CHAPMAN. CORN HUSKER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 8, 1905.

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HEMEN C. CHAPMAN, OF LEAMINGTON, CANADA.

CORN-HUSKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1906.

Application filed September 8,1905. Serial No. 277.619.

To all 111710711, if 71mg concern.:

Be it known that I, I-IEMEN C. CHAPMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Leamington, Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Corn-Huskers; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the 'letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in corn-huskingand silk-removing apparatus, and it comprises various details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter fullydescribed and then specifically defined in the appended claims.

In carrying out the present invention it is my intention to improve uponmy former patent, No. 743,450, and render the same more practical andefficient for uses for which it is devised.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a partof this application, and in which- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional viewlongitudinally through my improved corn-husker. Fig. 2 is a diagrammaticview showing the gear and sprocket wheel connections for driving theapparatus. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the portion of theapparatus which is provided to cut off one end of an ear of corn andsever the husks at the buttend thereof. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of adetail showing the mechanism for vibrating the hopper to cause thebutt-ends of the ears to be fed foremost. Fig. 5 is a sectional view online 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. is a sectional view on line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig.7 is a detail view of one of the disks, having a circular cutting-knifethereon. Fig. 8 is a detail view of the yielding roller under which theears of corn are adapted to pass.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter,Adesignates the frame of the machine, which is mounted upon suitablelegs A, and B designates an endless conveyer, there being any number ofsaid conveyers, as may be desired, which may be located side by side andon which the ears of corn are to be fed to the apparatus. Said conveyersare mounted upon the sprocketwheels B and pass over idlers B2. One ofsaid sprocket-wheels B is driven by suitable belted connections with thedriving apparatus. Each conveyer B is mounted in a suitable trough C andat intervals along the chain or lugs C, adapted to carry the ear ofcorn, butt foremost, along the troughs and deposit the same between thesectional disks D, which are of a construction substantially similar tothose illustrated in my said former patent, and said disks are mountedupon a shaft DX, and intermediate the disks D is a circularcutting-knife DY. The shaft BX, which carries the inner sprocket-wheelB, is mounted upon the spring-arms BY, held yieldingly by springs Bz andprovided for the purpose of allowing the inner end of the conveyer toyield to adapt itself to differentsized ears of corn.

Mounted upon a standard DG is a shakinghopper D7, pivotally mounted atD8, and D`J designates an arm carrying an antifrictionwheel D10, journaled therein, upon which the free exit end of the hopper rests.

D11 is a link one end of which is pivotally connected at D12 to thebottom of the hopper, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, and the otherend has a strap DI", which rides upon the eccentric D, 'fixed to theshaft D15, said shaft being driven by any suitable belted connectionsdesired, whereby as the shaft is rotated a shaking movement may beimparted to the hopper, the bottom of which is inclined slightly forwardand downward. The ears of corn (shown in Fig. 1) are placed upon thehopper, and the shaking -movement of the latter will cause the butt-endsof the ears to be fed forward upon the conveyer to be advanced into themachine for the purpose of husking the corn and removing the silk fromthe kernels.

E designates a circular outlined cuttingknife mounted upon a suitableshaft E, which is journaled in the frame of the apparatus and which isdriven by means of a sprocket-chain E2, passing over a sprocketwheel E,rotating with the shaft E", which latter shaft also drives a wheel E5,positioned above the inner end of the endless conveyer.

F designates a shaft mounted in suitable bearings in the frame of theapparatus and has 'fixed thereto a pinion-wheel F', which is in meshwith an elongated gear-wheel F2, fastened to and rotating with the shaftF, which latter is also journaled in suitable X bearings upon theframe.. One end of the l shaft F'L carries a bevel-pinion F", which isin IOO IIO

' drawings.

mesh with a similar pinion F6 on the shaft F7, and a sprocket-wheel Fsupon the shaft F7 is adapted to drive a sprocket-wheel F9 upon the shaftF10, which latter shaft carries a sectional disk F11. Said shaft F has alongitudinal movement'and is normally held in the position shown in Fig.1 of the drawings by means of a spring F13, which bears against astationary member G, while its inner end is in contact with one end ofthe shell G, a dei tail View of` which is shown in Fig. 3 of the Saidshell G, which is hollow, has a fiange g, with elongated slots gtherein, and pivot-ally mounted upon said fianges are the two curvedknives H and H, the endsv of said knives projecting beyond thecircumference of said flange, and springs H2 are provided, one of eachbeing connected to a lug H3 upon said fiange and its other end connectedto one of said knives, as shown clearly in Fig. 3 of the drawings, theoffice of said springs being to normally hold the knives in t e positionshown in Fig. 3 and spaced apart, it being understood that the innerconcaved portions of said knives form cutting edges.

I designates a ring having two elongated slots I at positionsdiametrically opposite corresponding with the slots g in the fiange g.Rods I2 pass through the apertures I4 in the ring I, and nuts I5 aremounted upon the threaded ends of said rods. K designates a hollow ring,to which the other ends of said rods are fastened, and a spring K ismounted upon eachrod I2 and bears between the two rings I and K for thepurpose of holding said rings normally at' their farthest positions fromeach other.

K2 designates fingers which are fastened to the inner face of the ring Kat positions diametrically opposite each other and are adapted toregister with the slots I and g, and each of said fingers has aninclined edge K5, the two edges being inclined, one on a reverse edgefrom the other, and are designed to contact, respectively, against theouter edges of the cutting-knives H and H as pressure is im- I parted tothe ring K by an advancing ear of corn.

Fixed to a shaft L, which is journaled in suitable bearings in the frameof the apparatus, is a rubber-covered wheel L', whlch is positionedunderneath the circular cuttingknife DY and spaced apart therefrom. Asuitable sprocket chain LX, passing over sprocket-wheels L2 upon theshaft L and sprocket-wheel L3 upon the shaft L2 transmitsmotion from theshaft L to the shaft L4, and the shaft L is driven by sprocket-wheel andchain connections with the shaft Dx. A rubber roller L6 is fixed to theshaft L4 and is provided for the purpose of feedin the ear of cornagainst a rubber roller M, which is fixed to a shaft M, journaled insuitable bearings upon the frame of the apparatus and between thefeeding-disks 0. One end of the shaft M has a bevel-pinion M2, which isin mesh witha similar pinion M3 upon the shaft M4, and a sprocket-wheelM5 is fixed to the shaft M4 and has a sprocketchain N 6, which passesover a sprocket-wheel M7 upon the shaft at the outer end of the conveyerC. N and N designate rubber rollers which are also fixed to rotate withthe shaft M and spaced apart, as shown.

O O designate yielding section-disks which are fixed to the shaft O',and P designates a concaved brush to the lower end of a shaft P which isjournaled in a pivotal angled bracket-arm P2, mounted upon the frame ofthe apparatus, a detail view of said mechanism being illustrated in Fig.6 of the drawings, in which it will be observed that there are two ofthe concaved brushes P, mounted upon vertical axes, and a spring P3connects the pivotal bracket-arms and is provided for the purpose ofallowing the brushes to yield slightly to allow ears of different sizesto pass between said brushes. A bevel-pinion P4 is fixed to the upperend of each shaft P and is in mesh with a similar bevel-pinion P5, fixedto a shaft P6. The spaces between the teeth of the bevel-pinions P4 andP5 are of sufficient width to allow slight play, whereby the brushesupon the shaft P may move slightlj,T away from or toward each other.

Q designates a drag-brush which is mounted upon a yieldin arm Q and isprovided for the purpose of holding the ear while it passes between thebrushes P.

Q2 designates a wheel having a rubber periphery and xed to rotate with ashaft Q3, journaled in the frame of the apparatus and provided for thepurpose ofv advancing the ear of corn between the rotary brushes P. Therotary brushes, traveling at a slower speed than the rubber-coveredwheels which drive the ears, will cause the silk or husks to be brushedfrom the cob as the latter advances through the apparatus.

R designates a disk made up of yielding sections similar to the diskO,referred to, and is provided to advance the ear of corn to therubber-covered wheel R, which is mounted upon a shaft R2, and S Sdesignate concaved brushes which are similar to the brushes P and aremounted in the same manner upon shafts S, driven by the gear connectionsshown in Fig. l ofthe drawings.

T T designate the yielding sectional disks fixedto the shaft F10, andtwo of said yielding sectional disks, which are positioned parallel toeach other and between which the earsof corn pass, are designed to forcethe ear between the rollers W W, which are provided for the purpose ofremoving any silk from the cob which might escape being'removed by theother brushes as the ear passes through the machine.

In operation the ears of corn are fed upon the hopper or shaker, andmotion being im- IOO parted to the apparatus the vibration of the shakerwill cause the heavy end of the ear te advance foremost, and being fedforward upon the endless conveyer the ears are first caught between thedisk E3 and a roller upon the shaft at the inner end of the conveyer. Asthe butt-end of the ear comes in contact with the circular knife mountedupon the shaft Dx the inner faces of the sections of the feeding-disksupon either side of the circular knife will 'frictionally engage theear, and as the ear is fed between the two circular eutting-knives DYand E it will be noted that the knives will cut into the ear and slitthe husks along diametrically opposite portions of the ear. The butt-endof the ear being fed by the sections of the disk into the opening of thering li and pressure coming against said ring will cause the 'fingerswith inclined edges to pass through registering apertures in the rings Iand g, and as said inclined edges come against the outer edges of thecurved knives the latter will be thrown toward each other and quicklysever the butt-end of the ear and also loosen the husks from the ear.This mechanism for actuating the knives is so adjusted that the butt-endof the ear will be cut olf without retarding the movement of the ear, asits opposite end is carried downward by frictional contact of the samewith the feeding-disks D. The ear of corn being fed down by said disksover the rubber-covered rollers L and L will be caught by the disks Oand held against the rubber rollers M, which are arranged in pairs, withslight spaces intervening, and the ears passing between the disks O areforced under the drag-brush The ear of corn passing underneath saiddragH brush is held by the feeding-disks R against the rapidly-rotatingroller N, thence underneath a drag-brush X, mounted upon a yielding armX, and passed between the rotary brushes S, and, finally, passed betweenthe rollers XV by means of the di'sks T, by which mechanism the husksand the silk will have been thoroughly removed from the kernels of cornupon the cob.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A corn-husker and silk-remover comprising a frame, endless conveyers,means for allowing the inner portions of the latter to yield, means forfeeding the butt-ends of ears foremost upon said conveyers,feeding-disks, circular knives for cutting the husks longitudinally asthey are fed between said disks, and means for cutting off the butt-endof the ear as it is held by said feeding-disks, as set forth.

2. A corn-husker and silk-reinover comprising a frame, endlessconveyers, means for allowing the inner portions of the latter to yield7means for feeding the butt-ends of ears foremost upon said conveyers,feeding-disks,

circular knives for cutting the husks longitudinally as they are fedbetween said disks, means for cutting off the butt-end of the ear as itis held by said feeding-disks, mechanism for reversing the ear after thebutt-end has been severed and feeding the same forward through theapparatus, and mechanism for removing the loosened husks and silk, asset forth.

3. A eorn-husker and silk-remover co1n prising a frame, endlessconveyers, means for allowing the inner portions of the latter to yield,means for feeding the butt-ends of ears foremost upon said conveyers,feeding-disks, circular knives for cutting the husks longitudinally asthey are fed between said disks, a rotatable shell, spring-actuatedpivoted knives carried thereby, longitinfinally-movable 'fingers fortilting said knives as they rotate, said lingers being actuated by anear as it is fed forward by said disks, and mechanism for removing thehusks and silk from the ear after the butt-end has been cut therefrom,as set forth.

4. A eorn-husker and silk-remover comprising a frame, en less conveyers,means for allowing the inner portions of the latter to yiel means forfeeding the butt-en 's of ears foremost upon sai l conveyers, fee Aing-`isks, circular knives for cuttingl the husks longiturinally as they arefe l between said (isks, a rotatable shell, spring-actuated pivotalknives carried thereby, a spring-actuated ring supportel by saigl shell,Afingers secured to sai'l ring anl a 'apte l to actuate said knives asan ear comes in contact with the ring, and mechanism for removing thehusks and silk after the butt-end has been cut from an ear of corn, asset forth.

5. A corn-husker and silk-remover coinprising a frame, endlessconveyers, means for allowing the inner portions of the latter to yield,means for feeding the butt-ends of ears foremost upon said conveyers,feeding-disks, circular knives for cutting the husks longitudinally asthey are fed between said disks, a rotatable shell, spring-actuatedpivoted knives carried thereby, a spring-actuated ring supported by saidshell, lingers secured to said ring and having inclined edges which areadapted to contact with the outer edges of said fingers, whereby the endof an ear may be eut, and mechanism for removing the husks and silk fromthe ears, as set forth.

6. A corn-husker and silk-remover comprising a frame, endless conveyers,means for allowing the inner portions of the latter' to yield, means forfeeding the butt-ends of ears foremost upon said conveyers,feedingdisks, circular knives for cutting the husks longitudinally asthey are fed between said disks, a rotatable shell, spring-actuatedpivoted knives carried thereby, a spring-actuated ring supported by saidshell, said shell having slots formed therein, lingers upon said ringIOO IOS

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adapted to move through said slots and contact with said knives forthrowing the same toward each other as an ear of corn is fed into thering, and mechanism for removing the husks and silk from the ears, asset forth.

7. A corn-husker and silk-remover comprising a frame, endless conveyers,means for allowing the inner portions of the latter to yield, means forfeeding the butt-ends of ears foremost upon said conveyers,feedingdisks, circular knives for cutting the husks longitudinally asthey are fed between said disks, feeding-disks arranged in pairs,rubber-covered wheels intermediate said disks, rotatable concavedbrushes, and pivotal bearings in which the shafts of said brushes aremounted and between which brushes the ears of corn are fed by saiddisks, as set forth.

8. A corn-husker and silk-remover comprising a frame, endless conveyers,means for allowing the inner portions of the latter to yield means forfeeding the butt-ends of ears foremost upon said conveyers,feeding-disks, circular knives for cutting the husks longitudinally asthey are fed between said disks, feeding-disks arranged in pairs,rubber-covered wheels intermediate said disks, rotatable concavedbrushes, and pivoted bearings in which the shafts of said brushes aremounted and between which brushes the ears of corn are fed by saiddisks, dragbrushes, and flexible arms upon which the `same are mountedand under which the ears are adapted to be fed by said disks, as Set asset forth.

10. A corn-husker and silk-remover comprising a frame, a shaker set atan inclination and adapted to feed ears butt foremost into theapparatus, an endless conveyer upon which the ears are fed, disks forfee ing said ears forward from the conveyers, circular knivesintermediate said disks, means for cutting the butt-ends of the earswhile the latter are held by said feeding-disks, and mechanism forremoving the husks and silk after the butts have been cut off, as setforth. In testimony whereof I hereunto afliX my signature in thepresence of two witnesses'. HEMEN C. CHAPMAN. Witnesses:

ELMER J. KEEOH, CHARLES A. JEwELL.

